On 03/22 I purchased Yahoo Personal Address, which provides the customer with a domain name and personal e-mail addresses. The cost was $35.00 for one year, under AUTO-RENEWAL. As I planned to keep the website for life, to highlight my eBay clothing business, I had no objection to auto-renewal.
Yesterday, 04/14, I had trouble signing into my Yahoo! e-mail account. Each time I was greeted by a message that said my password was invalid. I tried rebooting my computer, changing internet settings, etc., to no avail. I then tried using Yahoo's "recover lost password / request new password" page, but received a message that my account had been deactivated. Yahoo's TOS states that they can cancel your account at any time, for virtually any reason, and are not required to give you any notice.
Feeling completely lost, I decided to consult Yahoo's "help" pages. After one hour of searching for an answer that was not there, I submitted a query to Customer "Care." You can probably guess that I only received a computer-generated form e-mail in return, which only asked me for more account info. I played along and also submitted three or four other similar queries. The final query was a rant about how, as a premium Yahoo user, I deserved some attention. Still no response.
I searched several websites, including the BBB, and found two contact numbers for Yahoo (based in California). I called and was initially "handled" by a techie named Paul, who was, of course, no help. He told me that my account had been deactivated because I violated the TOS. I asked for details, but Paul said the specific info was classified. What is this, the FBI?
He transferred me to his supervisor; I believe her name was either Susan or Dana (I think the latter). I tried to be calm, professional and diplomatic, but Dana was extremely rude and apathetic. As a result, I raised my voice a few times. Do you blame me? She reiterated the "fact" that the specific breach of agreement I had committed was not available.
I demanded to speak to whoever is in charge of making account cancellation decisions. Dana first said she did not know who is in charge of those decisions; then she stated the person was "unavailable." How convenient! Several times she instructed me to "quiet down" and "do not interrupt [me]!" Her condescending tone was extremely unprofessional, to say the least. She accused me of not listening to her, although I feel that she was the guilty one in that department.
In an effort to brush me off, Dana offered to give me the e-mail address of the Yahoo Complaints Department. I asked if they would actually answer my e-mails, unlike the online help forum. She stated, snottily, "I don't know. I don't work in that department." So I told her she is the most uninformed manager with whom I have ever had the displeasure of speaking.
No explanation. No refund. No respect. I paid for one year's worth of personal domain use but got less than one month's worth. I can still, at this moment, go to my website, but I cannot add to it or change it in any way. The worst part is that they have my credit card info and may bill me once per year every year, because I am on the auto-renewal plan.
I immediately filed a report with the BBB. For all I know, Yahoo could have cancelled my account simply to scam me out of money. Or perhaps a hacker got into my account and used it for malicious purposes. A Yahoo computer glitch, human error, or maybe I really did violate the Yahoo TOS. The possibilities are endless, yet the answers are beginning-less.
I have no way of knowing the true facts because Yahoo will not give me any information specific to my account. At least an insurance company will tell you why your coverage is being cancelled. I also subscribed to Yahoo Personals under the deactivated account. We will see if I get charged for the service henceforth.
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